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Man who slit boy’s throat targeted another home before deadly Zeelugt attack – confession reveals
(Kaieteur News) – The 23-year-old suspect in custody for the murder of seven-year-old Adriel Aftab Mohamed and the attempted murder of his 72-year-old great-grandmother, Halima Itwari, has reportedly confessed that he first tried to break into a nearby home before targeting the victims’ residence.
According to police, the suspect, a farmer of Zeelugt was arrested at his residence on Saturday. While in custody he reportedly confessed to the crimes committed on seven-year-old Mohamed and his 72-year-old grandmother which occurred on June 5.
The child and grandmother were home alone at the time when the incident occurred.
Police sources said the victims were not the suspect’s initial target.
Dead: Adriel Aftab Mohamed
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, during his confession to investigators, the suspect when showed additional digital evidence, “confirmed that prior to entering the victims’ home, he had entered a yard close by. However, he failed to enter the home as he heard movements which alerted him that someone was awake. And in his haste to leave before an alarm was raised he left his slippers and a music player.”
Based on his confession, police in their investigation went to that residence, where they recovered the items, which was then identified by the suspect as belonging to him.
Investigators built a formidable case noting that the knife recovered at the crime scene was confirmed by the suspect as the weapon used in the attack. Clothing worn during the assault has since been retrieved and will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis, along with other physical evidence.
Sources close to the investigation revealed to this publication that the suspect is not a relative to the family of the little boy and his great-grandmother. The suspect remains in custody as investigation continues.
Kaieteur News understands that on Monday, a post mortem was conducted on the body of seven-year-old Mohamed. The autopsy revealed that he died from an incised wound to the neck, compounded by blunt force of injuries.
His body has been handed over to relatives for burial. Kaieteur News understands that funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.
It was reported that the murder occurred at approximately 04:45 hrs. on Friday, June 5, when Adriel and his great-grandmother were alone at their home. A relative arriving at around 05:05 hrs. discovered Itwari injured and the child motionless. Emergency services were called, and the elderly woman was transported to the hospital, where she remains in a stable but traumatised condition.
“She is in a lot of pain, she is still traumatised and afraid of the whole situation,” a relative said.
The boy’s great-uncle, Naseeb Mohamed, described to reporters on Friday the harrowing scene he encountered when he entered the darkened home.
“One of the neighbours called my wife this morning, minutes to five and told her I must come down to check on my mother because somebody is in the house. And I came and when I came, I pushed the door and went inside, I put on the lights because the place was dark. I saw my mother lying on the ground, the first thought that came to my mind was that she was dead, and then I look up, a little more in the house I saw my great nephew on the ground,” he recalled.
Moving closer to the child, Mohamed said: “I see he had a cut to his neck and the whole place was filled with blood, a lot of blood all over the place.” He immediately alerted neighbours and rushed his mother to the hospital.
Adriel’s father was working in Essequibo at the time of the attack. The boy lived in the home with his great-grandmother and his father.
Mohamed expressed bewilderment at the motive behind the senseless violence. “My mother is not a rich woman, and then she is 72 years old and had stroke over a year now. I don’t know if it’s a robbery or they just come to molest her or whatever the case might be,” he said.
Relatives remembered the Zeelugt Primary School student as an energetic and friendly child. He used to help his grandmother in the home who is not healthy.
Authorities have not yet released the suspect’s identity, pending the completion of the investigation.
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